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Research Interests Click for more

The Iglesia group addresses the design, synthesis, and structural and functional characterization of inorganic solids useful as catalysts for reactions relevant to the production, conversion and use of energy carriers, the sustainable synthesis of petrochemicals, and the minimization of environmental impacts of energy conversion and use. Current research includes designing catalysts for converting C1 and oxygenate molecules to fuels and large-volume chemicals as bridges to carbon-free energy platforms, the formation mechanism and reactivity consequences of oxygen species in oxidation and deoxygenation turnovers, the design, synthesis, and catalytic use of active sites at specific locations within confined environments to enforce molecular traffic constraints and preferential stabilization of specific transition states, and the mechanistic consequences of dense phases, whether intrapore liquids or dense surface adlayers, in solvating precursors and transition states.

This research is enabled by novel synthetic protocols to prepare active nanostructures and isolated single-site catalysts within porous solids and by techniques for assessing their location, structure, and atomic connectivity, in most instances during catalytic reactions. It also exploits steady-state and transient kinetic methods and isotopically-labeled molecules to elucidate the mechanism of reactions on surfaces, at the level of primary and secondary reaction paths, but also, and most relevantly, in terms of the elementary processes that mediate catalytic sequences. The general approach involves systematic experimental inquiries into structure and function benchmarked against rigorous analysis by density functional theory and higher-level theoretical treatments.

LSAC Research Accomplishments (2014-2023, rev. 9/23)

This document provides a summary of the research accomplishments of members of the LSAC group at the University of California at Berkeley. The contributions described herein are grouped together by the concepts (and conundrums) that motivated each body of work.

LSAC News

Professor Iglesia to be featured in a Science History Institute Exhibition

July 14, 2023

Professor Iglesia is now featured in an exhibition, Migrating Science: Stories of Immigration and Innovation, at the Science History Institute. The exhibit will be on display through November and highlight his Oral History interview. It will later be preserved as a digital exhibit.

Read the interview transcript here.

Professor Iglesia awarded the Faraday Lectureship Prize in recognition of the scientific achievements of his research group

June 13, 2023

Congratulations to Professor Iglesia for being awarded the 2023 Faraday Lectureship Prize for outstanding contributions to the mechanistic understanding of catalysis, leading scientific innovation for environmental protection and the production of energy carriers, fuels, and chemicals.

Read more about the award here.

LSAC Symposium and Retreat

March 24, 2023

Join other LSAC family and friends in celebrating the 4th decade of LSAC with a symposium on Friday, August 18 - Sunday, August 20, directly following Fall ACS 2023 in San Francisco. The symposium will be held at Hotel e in Old Courthouse Square Santa Rosa, CA and will feature a weekend of Laughs, Science, Activities, and Camaraderie for our LSAC members and extended family.

Read more about the retreat and register here.

Update: Please enjoy photos from this event and view the commemorative video.

Professor Iglesia elected member of the Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences of Spain

July 9, 2021

Congratulations to Professor Enrique Iglesia for being elected as a member of the “Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales de España” (Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences of Spain), a Spanish public institution founded in 1847 dedicated to the study and research of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geology, and their applications and benefits for society. Among its main functions, it serves as an advisory pannel to the Government of Spain on matters within its competence and organizes meetings, publications, and seminars on the aforementioned fields.
Find Academy members here.
Read more about the Academy.

Jorge Quesada Receives Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship

July 7, 2021

Congratulations to Dr. Jorge Quesada for being awarded with a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship of the EU Commission. The goal of these grants is to enhance the creative and innovative potential of experienced researchers, wishing to diversify their individual competence in terms of skill acquisition through advanced training, international and intersectoral mobility. The research project of this fellowship, “Engineering Pores for Sustainable Catalytic Olefins Upgrading―Pores4Olefins”, will be developed in LSAC during the following two years.
Read about the project here.
Read more about the MSCA Individual Fellowships.

Professor Gounder Receives 2021 ACS Early Career Award in Catalysis

February 9, 2021

Congratulations to Professor Rajamani Gounder, an LSAC alumnus at Purdue University, for receiving the Early Career Award in Catalysis! This award recognizes and encourages accomplishments and innovation of unusual merit by an individual in the early stages of their career, emphasizing independence and creativity. The award will be presented during the ACS Fall meeting at a session honoring Prof. Gounder's contributions to the field of catalysis.
Read the official announcement here.
Read more about the award here.

Professor Iglesia Receives 2021 NACS Award

July 6, 2020

Congratulations to Professor Iglesia on winning the 2021 NACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Catalysis. The award recognizes "recognizes an individual who advanced catalytic chemistry or engineering by significant service to the catalysis community in addition to technical accomplishments." The award citation reads, "For tireless dedication to the stewardship of catalysis and for encouraging, mentoring, and recognizing its practitioners." The plaque will be presented during the closing banquet ceremonies at the 2021 North American Meeting of the Catalysis Society.

Read more about the announcement here.

Haefa Mansour Receives Outstanding GSI Award

October 31, 2019

Congratulations to Haefa Mansour for the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award! Haefa is recognized for her teaching of Undergraduate Kinetics.

Professor Iglesia Receives E.V. Murphree Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry

August 26, 2019

Professor Iglesia has been named the 2020 recipient of the E.V. Murphree Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, sponsored by the ExxonMobil Research and Engienering Company. The award is given for "outstanding research of a theoretical or experimental nature in the fields of industrial chemistry or chemical engineering". Professor Iglesia will be honored at the 2020 ACS Spring National Meeting in Philadelphia.

Congratulations Professor Iglesia!

Professor Iglesia Presents Boudart Award Lecture at NAM26

July 1, 2019

Professor Iglesia presented a plenary lecture on "Tailoring Binding Sites and Their Environments" at the 26th meeting of the North American Catalysis Society.

The session recognized Professor Iglesia as the recipient of the Michel Boudart Award for the Advancement of Catalysis, announced earlier in January this year. Professor Iglesia celebrated the reception of the award with past and current LSAC members at an award dinner.

Ari Fischer Receives Chevron Research Fellowship

May 8, 2019

Congratulations to Ari for receiving the Chevron Research Fellowship in recognition of his excellence in catalysis research!

Professor Iglesia Named One of the Neil Armstrong Distinguished Visiting Fellows at Purdue University

March 5, 2019

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